African Growth And Opportunity Act Economics Essay

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Researching socio-cultural factors that hinder trade between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa: A instance survey of the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA )

Introduction

Trade between states has evolved from simple import-export minutess of goods or services to a wide cooperation between nation-states, making an economic coaction beyond national boundary lines. Such cooperation is regulated by free trade understandings ( FTAs ) that are a “ specific policy step to do international trade easier and more efficientaˆ¦ . FTAs are regarded as indispensable to guarantee the on-going fight for exporters in cardinal markets. ” ( Battisti & A ; Perry, 2008, pp. 2-3 ) . For this ground, the United States has established the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) “ a statute law that was approved by the United States Congress in May of 2000 to help the economic systems of Sub-Saharan Africa and to better economic dealingss between the United States and the part ” ( Abdul, 2009, p. 1 ) .

The African Growth Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) has doubtless bridged trade between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa. Pan, Tworoger and Helen ( 2004 ) affirmed that the understanding has been credited with many good positive consequences such as “ increased industry productiveness and fight through engineering transportation by American spouse companies ; inter-country networking and partnerships among houses across Sub-Sahara Africa ; and increased investing by other states seeking to take advantage of AGOA ” ( p.1 ) .

Despite benefits mentioned above, trade between the United States and Sub-Sahara Africa under the African growing chance act ( AGOA ) is far from making its full potency. Previous empirical qualitative researches blamed underperformance of the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) on trade policy reasoning that “ the statute law is a contradiction with World Trade Organization ( WTO ) regulations and that it is a nonreversible understanding as there was small African engagement in its readying ” ( Abdul, 2009, p. 4 ) . Recommendations were made to policy shaper for a “ transmutation of the AGOA from a nonreciprocal to a mutual trade understanding and the envisaged enlargement of African markets ” ( Abdul, 2009, p. 5 ) .

Other researches took theoretical and statistical attacks. Seyoum ( 2007 ) for case encouraged to

Establish the comparative importance of AGOA compared with other variables such as GDP, population or exchange rates in influencing African exports to the USA by utilizing time-series arrested development analysis that would assist givers and receivers invent appropriate policies to assist promote the growing and variegation of exports. ( p. 2 )

The present research will endeavor to show that underperformance of the African growing chance act ( AGOA ) can be explained and curbed by integrating socio-cultural factors such as such as Sub Sahara Africa ‘s colonial and post-colonial trade forms ; linguistic communication, degree and quality of instruction that have been neglected in old researches.

Problem Statement

Openness to international trade has a positive impact on economic growing. The ground for the statement is partially based on the decisions of many empirical surveies such as the one produced by Omoko ( 2010 ) who claimed that “ outward-oriented economic systems systematically have higher economic growing rates than inward-oriented economic systems ” ( p. 1 ) .

This averment implies that there is causal relationship between fiscal development, trade openness and economic growing. However, trade between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa under the African Growth and Opportunity act ( AGOA ) shows no grounds to back up the above averment because of uninterrupted lessening in trade activities. In fact, statistics released by the International Trade Administration ( 2012 ) shows that

In 2012, U.S. entire trade ( exports plus imports ) with sub-Saharan Africa ( SSA ) reached $ 48 billion, a lessening of 24 per centum compared to the same period in 2011. U.S. imports from SSA decreased by 29 per centum, falling to $ 27 billion and stand foring merely 2.4 per centum of entire U.S. imports from the universe. During this timeframe, AGOA imports totaled $ 18.7 billion, 29 per centum less than in the same period in 2011. ( p. 1 )

A reappraisal of findings from empirical researches, the Office of US Trade Representative ( USTR ) , the Congressional Library, the Regional African Trade Organizations, amendments of trade policy and nidation of theoretical attacks such as time-series arrested development theoretical account had “ positive but non important consequence on beneficiary exports to the USA for all state groupsaˆ¦Similarly, AGOA ‘s consequence is positive but non important for all major exporters ” ( Seyoum, 2007, p. 1 ) .

Previous research surveies had ignored to understand that international trade depends on a linkage of “ four major environmental conditions: political-legal, economic socio-cultural, and educational ” ( Prasad et al. , 2003, p. 8 ) . In the instance of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the socio-cultural and educational jobs that need to be associated to merchandise policy and economic theories are related colonial and postcolonial trade forms, to merchandise linguistic communication, degree and quality of instruction.

Purpose Statement

The intent of the present research is to research the impact of Sub Sahara Africa ‘s colonial and post-colonial trade forms, trade linguistic communication, degree and quality of instruction on trade between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa under Africa Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) . Primary informations to finish this undertaking will be drawn from studies and interviews of participants selected at the office of US trade office representative, Sub Sahara Africa representative missions in the United States, American and African concern communities. Thorough analysis of US authorities paperss, statements of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, cyberspace beginnings, scholarly articles and book will function as beginning for secondary informations. Analysis of these informations will sharpen the focal point of the research to propose new orientation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) that combines trade policy, economic theories, socio-cultural and educational factors to extenuate imbalanced trade and make competitory advantage.

Research Questions

Frazer and Van Biesebroeck ( 2010 ) who explored the public presentation of international trade under the Africa growing and chance act and happen a valid decision taking to believe that

None of the restrictions often cited in the Sub Sahara African context such as hapless substructure, distorted merchandise and recognition markets, high hazard, unequal societal capital, and hapless public services proved to be adhering restraints to spread outing trade under the Africa growing and chance act. ( p. 25 )

The findings lead to research other factors that can give plausible accounts to underperformance of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) . Socio-cultural and educational environments that have been ignored in old research surveies provide an underestimated potency to lend to work outing the job. It is hence of import explore Sub Sahara Africa ‘s colonial and station colonial trade forms, hurdle related to merchandise linguistic communication, degree and quality of instruction in order to happen constrains that hinder trade between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa under Africa Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) . To this purpose, the present qualitative survey will endeavor to reply to these inquiries:

Q1. What are Sub Sahara African socio-cultural factors that hinder trade public presentation with the United States under African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) plan?

Good pick of a research method is really of import because it determines how the research is conducted. As asserted by Creswell ( 2009 ) , “ research method involves the signifiers of informations aggregation, analysis, and reading that research workers propose for their surveies ” ( p. 15 ) . Therefore, research workers need to familiarise with a research method and its applied aims.

With respect to research method, Cameron ( 2009 ) proposed qualitative research method, quantitative research method and assorted research method as the chief three research designs that he briefly explained in following footings:

Quantitative method includes numerical values and measurings that help research workers to depict and find some forms such as societal forms.

Qualitative method trades with reading and geographic expedition that usher research workers to understand and explicate events and happenings, such as worlds ‘ phenomenon from the societal forms.

The combination of the last two methods is a foundation for developing assorted methods research. It involves philosophical premises, the usage of qualitative and quantitative attacks, and the commixture of both attacks in a survey. ( pp. 111-112 )

Qualitative research is the methodological analysis design that will steer geographic expedition of how socio-cultural and educational factors potentially hamper trade understanding between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa under the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) . It will turn to these jobs through techniques that facilitate to show complex readings of phenomenon without entirely trusting on statistical and economic theories that have been unable to decide the issue of United States ‘trade shortage created by the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) . By looking beyond numerical informations of trade between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa under the African growing and chance act ( AGOA ) , qualitative research design will “ concentrate on detecting true interior significances and new penetrations ” ( Zikmund, Babin, Carr & A ; Griffin, 2010, p. 20 ) by naming and construing certifications, participants response to studies and interviews.

Not all qualitative methods are appropriate for every enquiry state of affairs. Study of trade between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa under the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) presents specialness and complexness of a individual instance whose activities need to be understood within of import fortunes that merely instance study research attack has goodness of tantrum with the research inquiries.

Intrinsic instance survey refers to the thought that instance itself is of involvement ; the research worker is focused on badgering out what can be learned about that peculiar instance.

Instrumental instance survey refers to the thought that a instance can ease apprehension of something else ; the research worker is focused on developing penetration into an issue or external involvement through the instance.

Corporate instance survey is an instrumental instance survey extended to a figure of instances ; the research worker is focused on traveling toward a better apprehension, possibly better theorizing, about a more general phenomenon or status. ( p. 107 )

This latter class of instance survey will be the enquiry attack that best pess to react to research inquiries aimed at analyzing trade between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa under the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) plan for which responses will cover with “ people as primary unit of analysis ; major events as descriptive units of analysis ; and assorted topographic points, sites, scenes or locations before making cross-setting form analysis ” ( Patton, 2002, p. 439 ) . Another advantage of corporate instance survey will be its usage of assorted methods that include “ interviews, participant observations, and field surveies ” ( Patton, 2002, p. 298 ) . These inquiry methods will lend to utile rating, practical job resolution, real-world determination devising, action research, policy analysis, and organisational development of trade between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa under the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) .

Data Collection

Research inquiries will be good served utilizing people-oriented enquiry through “ observations, studies and interviews ” ( Patton 2002, pp. 27, 47 ) conducted among 20 participants selected at the office of US trade office representative, Sub Sahara Africa representative missions in the United States, American and African concern communities.

Data Analysis and Report

Creswell ( 2009 ) contended that informations analysis “ involves fixing the information for analysis, carry oning different analysis, traveling deeper and deeper into understanding the information, stand foring the information, and doing an reading of the larger significance of the information ” ( p. 183 ) . To this terminal, informations organisation and reappraisal will ab initio get down during the aggregation procedure of primary informations gained through studies, and interviews techniques and secondary informations drawn from US authorities paperss, statements of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, cyberspace beginnings, scholarly articles and book.

After informations organisation and reappraisal, the coding procedure will blossom to “ bring forth a description of the scene or people every bit good as classs or subjects ” ( Creswell 2009, p. 189 ) into sections and labels while paying close attending “ to convergence in order to calculate out what things fit together and divergency by scrutiny of informations that does n’t look to suit including aberrant instances that do n’t suit the dominant identified forms ” ( Patton, 2002, p. 467 ) .

Classs and subjects coding will take to the following measure of thick description “ that provides the foundation for qualitative analysis and coverage ” ( Patton 2002, p. 437 ) . At this phase, instance survey on trade between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa under the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) will depict in depth trade operations, events and activities of “ functionaries of the United States authorities, functionaries of the authoritiess of sub-Saharan African states and nongovernmental organisations from sub-Saharan ” ( US Congress 2001, p. 5 ) . After depicting findings in line with the intent of survey translated in research inquiries, the following measure will concentrate on thick reading in order to give significances and elucidate findings from survey participants before showing findings in a descriptive, narrative signifier. Thick description will be the vehicle for pass oning a holistic image of trade between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa under the African Growth and Opportunity Act plan ( AGOA ) .

Significance of Research

The research survey about trade between the United States and Sub Sahara Africa under the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) is intended to lend to the organic structure of cognition, enhance authorities trade policies and actuate more research workers to increase their involvement and attending to the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

Findingss will be reported in the manner that they provide to the reader all the information necessary to understand the instance in its singularity.

“ As the Asian, South American and East European markets are acquiring saturated, the US authorities, other developed states and concerns are already looking towards Sub Saharan Region for concern ” ( Ehiobuche, Mensah & A ; King, 2011, p. 1 ) , the benefits of the survey will be the creative activity of consciousness of relationship between socio-cultural, educational factors and trade public presentation because trade understandings with the Sub Sahara Africa based entirely on policy, theoretical and statistical have yielded limited success in the instance of the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ) .